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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

JMU's Kirby and sisters Jordan and Cassidy, Burkholder that is, are quite a bunch

Cassidy, Jordan and Kirby

Don't confuse Kirby Burkholder with Jan
Brady, even though she is the middle child.

Are we dating ourselves in
this blog? Remember Marcia, Jan, Cindy?

Meet Jordan, Kirby and
Cassidy, and even though James Madison forward Kirby is the CAA Player of the Year, it’s not all
about Kirby, Kirby, Kirby in this family.

Ahem, Jordan was Player of the Year
in the ODAC, and “I’m better at softball,” she says. “Hands down.” Credit Jordan, too, for one season of lacrosse at Bridgewater College where Cassidy is only halfway
through her basketball career. (Pst. That's also Mom's alma mater.) While there’s still potential for Cassidy to join her
sisters with a Player of the Year honor, for now the older sisters only concede this.

“She’s better at school,”
Kirby says.

And, they agree with wicked grins, "Cassidy is the good one.”

"You guys are a bad influence on me," Cassidy says.

You see Jordan, 24, and Kirby, 22, tended to
gang up on Cassidy, 19, just a few times when the sisters were younger. At least that’s how “the good one” frames it.

Jordan is a bit more blunt about it, and Kirby can recall getting socked by Jordan -- just once, though.

“Man, Kirby and I used to run
over Cassidy. We have home videos,” Jordan says. “Me and Cassidy were so far apart in age. We didn’t
start bonding till she got into high school. Now we’re all closer. We’re best
friends. There’s nothing we don’t tell each other.”

They/re movie pals,
going-out-to-eat friends and ardent supporters of each other. Jordan lives in
Northern Virginia these days where she is a substitute teacher with plans to attend Mary Baldwin for graduate school in special education. But she’s still a
regular at James Madison games along with Cassidy and the parents. The whole clan was together for the CAA Tournament where they saw JMU roll past
Delaware and into the NCAA Tournament (the Dukes are a 11 seed playing No. 6
Gonzaga in College Station, Texas on Sunday.)

Seems like where you’ll find
one Burkholder, you’ll find at least one more. They all played at Turner Ashby
High; all were 1,000-point scorers who often made their way into the back yard to
shoot hoops on the cement pad.

They were never competitive
with each other when it came to basketball. “When we played pickup, we tried to be on the same
team,” Kirby says.

Cassidy is scrappy on
defense and Jordan physical in the post. Kirby is finesse, and yep, maybe a little bit stronger of a player, defenitely the 3-point ace.

The up-and-under is
vintage Burkholder, no matter the first name. “It’s the only move I learned in
high school, and I guess it stuck with all of us,” Jordan says.

Jordan, if you can't tell, is the most vocal. Asked
what she does better on the court than Kirby, she answers, “Talking. I’m a talker.
I’m not a shy player. Now you see her get a little more fired up, it being her
senior year. I love it when she gets feisty."

Kirby has a dry wit, enough
of one that Mom often jokes about Kirby’s red hair. You see the man next door
has red hair, and he’s a postman….

Kirby loves clothes, and she
buys them a lot, her sisters say. “Online,” Kirby says and Cassidy confers.

“She has them delivered to
the house and sometimes three boxes come in one day. I just
wanna peek inside.”

Mom’s take on Kirby’s
fashion: “If you see something weird, that’s Kirby.”

“Sometimes we see something
and say, ‘Kirby would wear that. And Cassidy and I, we wouldn’t,” Jordan
says.“I’m more the tomboy.”

Kirby says Jordan has a lot
of shoes.

“Me? She has more shoes than anybody I know,” Jordan responds.

“Sneakers, heels, boots – I
buy them all,” Kirby admits.

"If only we wore the same size," laments Cassidy, who wears an 8 to Kirby's 9 1/2.

“Nobody has more sneakers than Jordan,” Cassidy says.

They just got puppies.
They’re 2 months old, and Kirby clarifies. Mom and Jordan got puppies. The
family dog, Tank, died recently at 4 ½ after a short bout with cancer. The two
new lab mixes are named Bruno and Ryle; Bruno is the boy with Mom, and Ryle
lives with Jordan.

“I like dogs as long as
they’re not licking me all over, and I don’t want to be responsible,” Kirby
says.

“They’re really cute" is Cassidy's take.

When they’re together, they
usually just hang out and giggle at the dinner table. “We
can’t sit at the table without somebody laughing. We don’t even have to talk,”
Jordan says. “Kirby is always talking so fast, half the time you don’t know
what she’s saying. Cassidy, she’s the nerd of the family. Me, I guess, I’m the
quote unquote dumb one. I mean not really dumb. There’s never a dull moment
when we’re together.”

There were fun games in their cousin's basement and repeated viewings of "Gremlins."

They have an ongoing group
text. They love to eat. Cassidy has a super sweet tooth.

Kirby and Cassidy will pick
up a book. Not Jordan. “I hate to read,” she says.

They used to camp where they played games, making up the rules along the way.

Every Christmas Day they go to
the movies. Speaking of Christmas, here’s a Kirby hint, Mom. She’d like a new
car. Now a Range Rover would be really nice, but if she has to, she’d settle
for a Nissan Maxima or Altima.

And as for cars. ...

"Remember that time you wrecked Dad's truck? You said you were going to a friend's house . . ." Kirby starts and Jordan stops her.

"Remember when you got your license and you were never home?" Jordan counters.

They joke,
goof, prank – Kirby dumped a mess of cold water on Jordan in the shower once.
But they support, and right now all the love goes to Kirby, bound for the NCAA
Tournament.

“She’s worked so hard,”
Jordan says. “Kenny (Brooks) works with them every second he can. To
see her go from wanting to transfer to sticking with it to Player of the Year; we
just love to see her do well.

“I didn’t think I’d be so
much into this, seeing her play, but it's almost like I'm out there playing. As long as she’s out there, we’re just there to
support her. It's just great to see her succeed and grow inside and out.”

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Virginia-based Vicki L. Friedman, winner of the 2013 Mel Greenberg Media Award, and Paul White are LadySwish, a blog dedicated to the 13 Division I basketball teams in the state. We love the sport -- its coaches, its players, its fans and its quirks. Both of us are journalists with more than four decades of experience. Our passion fuels us to deliver our best to our fans and followers every day.